Hey, Explorers!

I hope the title of this newsletter doesn’t scare you off!

I went to Komodo National Park with a small group of friends from UAE. While there, I realized that I had almost forgotten what it felt like to live on board (LOB) in the National Park. Our group had last done the LOB and the Flores Overland trip in November 2019. The following year, as we all know, was marked by unprecedented events.

As a planner who works with vendors, I always feel grateful to see familiar faces again after a long time. It is great news to know that they have survived through the hard times and they are thriving.

Talking about thriving, the underwater life in Komodo National Park is equally as thriving! The reef is denser and more colourful than I remember from my last visit. Although the water was colder and we encountered multiple thermoclines while snorkelling, it didn’t stop us from enjoying what we saw underwater during our four days and three nights sailing around Komodo National Park.

The peak of our excitement was when we checked out Manta Point. It was quiet, with no signs of mantas below the surface. After waiting for quite a while, we decided to jump into the water and check out the reef instead.

I always set the mindset that if we see the manta ray, that’s awesome! If we don’t, it’s okay. They are in the wild, not in a zoo, and sightings are not guaranteed. Nevertheless, deep in my heart, I was hoping that at least we all would see one.

The water conditions at Manta Point are usually not calm, and most of the time, the sea bottom is sandy. We were drifting following the current. While I was watching the group and making sure no one was left behind, I suddenly heard a noise and one of us pointed so hard in excitement at one giant black creature gracefully passing below us.

In my mind, “Yay! There is ONE!” 

As my head tilted, looking in the direction it was coming from, “Erh, NO! Not only one.” 

I saw another four coming! Then, another two, then another bigger one! It was like we saw a lineup of manta rays crossing for a good few minutes. I lost count, but according to the group, there were more than twenty of them.

During our trip, we were lucky enough to spot not only Manta Rays, but also Marble Rays and Eagle Rays. Some were swimming while others were resting on the ocean floor. We also saw numerous sea turtles, as well as fish like Bumphead and Napoleon, both big and small. It was truly a fulfilling day for all of us.

And, of course, we couldn’t forget about the main attraction of the National Park – the Komodo Dragon! Well, they still prefer to roam on land, we spotted them while visiting the Komodo Village and the Loh Liang at Komodo Island. Sadly, the Komodo Dragons are endangered, with only about 1500 left on Komodo Island itself.

Lastly, if you are aware, one of our upcoming trips is to Taiwan where we plan to explore one of the trails in Hualian. Unfortunately, this area was recently affected by an earthquake, so we’ve had to rearrange our itinerary to avoid it.

Don’t worry though, we’ve made sure that our new itinerary is just as exciting and fun-filled as the previous one. You can keep an eye on the updated details through one of our platforms – Meetup Group, Facebook Group, or Eazycation website.

Also, should you have any ideas, questions, feedback, or just want to say “hi”, you know where to reach me! That’s all for now. I hope to see you next month!

Hey, Explorers!

A while ago, we visited Misool, one of the islands part of the “Four Kings” – Raja Ampat. Yes, Raja Ampat consists of four islands, Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, and Misool. We first visited Raja Ampat in 2015 with the group.

At that time, not all islands were ready for visitors and we only explored a small part of Waigeo. Choices of accommodation were also not as many as now. Even so, we have quite a story to tell after that trip. I still remember the lady we accidentally met on Saonek Island where we dropped the books we brought for the children on the island.

With the school kids on Saonek Island, 2015

Then in the next few trips, we started to cover more areas of Raja Ampat – not only Waigeo, but we also explored Batanta Island. Seagrasses vastly surround the island of Batanta making the island favoured by the friendly marine mammals, the Dugong, or more well-known as sea cows. When we visited Batanta Island for the very first time, it seemed that only our group was there.

Until our last trip to Raja Ampat, which happened at the end of last year, we added Misool to the itinerary – making it almost a complete package of Raja Ampat exploration. Based on the feedback from the group, the extension version was a good decision considering all the efforts and the long journey to get to the Papua land. If the duration had been shorter than that, the satisfaction level could have not been this high.

What do you think? Would you prefer a short trip or a long trip? Or preferable duration? I would love to know your thoughts, too!

After so many years, it is still a struggle when it comes to deciding on the duration of the trip, schedule and even the costs. I would not want you to miss a thing that you should see since you have come so far.

But I learned that in the end, an itinerary full of a list of must-do and must-sees is not everything and the most important one (although I will still plan a fully packed itinerary. Haha..). It is the companions that determine most of the time whether we will be returning from the trip with a face full of smiles and good memories or not.

On the other hand, dealing with the locals and arranging a trip in an area with limited facilities or choices, has its challenges. But I will still be happy dealing with all the hassle because that’s simply my superpower.

Let’s explore more together in 2024!

Since mid of last month, I have been implementing the [1 Traveler 1 Coral ] program in Eazycation. Meaning to say, each of your trip participation automatically counts toward planting one coral in Karimunjawa Islands.

No additional cost is added to participants but rather a portion of the profit goes to there.

Karimunjawa Islands is a group of islands situated some 90km northwest off the northern coast of Jepara Regency in Central Java Province. It is one of seven marine national parks in Indonesia.

Regardless of where we are living, we all know that about 25% of marine life is dependent on coral reefs at some point in their life cycle.

Simply put it this way: no reef, no fish, no life.

A photo of the baby corals with name tag and certificate will be sent via email to each donator as an acknowledgement.

I admitted that at some point in my life, I ruined the reefs, too. Especially, in the early days when I was new to water activity. Even if we think we never did any harm directly to the ocean, we can still partake in this program.

If you would like to find out more about how to adopt corals individually in Karimunjawa Islands, feel free to let me know. I would be more than happy to share more details with you! :)

Any thoughts?

Hey, Explorers!

I know it’s been three months since my last updates. I have been doing well, and I hope you have been well. Year-end and early of the year are usually busy or slow for me. I think it was the earlier one for me.

In December, two groups visited Raja Ampat, which was exciting. Although it wasn’t the first group that trusted me to arrange their holiday last year, it was the first two groups I led after such a long break since the pandemic. To be honest, I was nervous.

“Will everything go well?”
“Did I miss something?”
“Will they enjoy the trip?”

.. and much more.

I checked and rechecked, making sure nothing was missed. I must admit that it wasn’t going well 100% as I expected it to be. But I could still tell we all left with good memories of the trip. :)

Wayag, Raja Ampat Islands

I spent a amount of time visiting my family in Singapore for the Chinese New Year in January and half of February. Even though we didn’t attach to the tradition so much anymore, we still take this opportunity to gather together – it is like a reminder for me to take a break and set aside time for family. It was also great meeting friends with whom I had not been catching up  since the pandemic.

A few days after returning from Singapore, I received a familiarisation trip invitation from the Jakarta Tourism Board to reintroduce the Thousand Islands – a group of islands across from Jakarta. The name “Thousand Islands” in Jakarta may sound familiar because our group was there in 2014. It has been almost nine years since we explored that side of Jakarta and Bogor’s highland.

During the familiarisation trip, we stayed on Pramuka Island, the same island we stayed on with the group last time. It has changed so much since then. It is a good change, though. The facilities on Pramuka Island have improved much.

Besides the turtle sanctuary, there is a seahorse hatchery centre, too. It is interesting to see the tiny seahorse babies. Another fun part of staying on Pramuka Island is that we can rent a kayak and kayaking on the other side of the island, where the water is calm along the sandy beach. Island hopping and snorkelling are definitely two things to do that shall not be missed!

Sunrise Beach, Pramuka Islands, Indonesia

Baby Seahorse a.k.a fry

Sea turtles hatchling

GROUP TRIPS & PRIVATE TRIPS

Now, talking about the upcoming trips, I will only be organising a few longer trips this year which are:

– Derawan Islands (Kalimantan)
– Togean Islands (Sulawesi)
– Mt. Rinjani (Lombok)
– Banda Aceh & Sabang (Aceh)
– Fakfak (West Papua)

If you follow my newsletter, those places may sound familiar to you because I shared about them before. :) As usual, I will keep the group small to not more than 12 pax – unless I stated otherwise to keep the prices more reasonable.

In between those, I will try to organize smaller trips for short getaways. If you do have any places in mind around Indonesia that you would like to visit however it isn’t on the list, please feel free to let me know. Also, it is possible to request a private trip, too!

To get the first trip updates, please join our Facebook Group here.

A Little Update About Eazycation

This year, I am trying to grow the team to serve more people who wish to have a holiday in Indonesia. To be honest, it has been a roller coaster journey for me in running this business. Whenever I think I got it stabilized already, an unexpected thing hits me hard – the latest one that hit everyone, too, was the pandemic. I can’t be thankful enough for those who supported me during those hard times.

But, well, through this first update from me in 2023, I would like to inform everyone that Eazycation is officially back to business!

Hope to see you guys soon! In the meantime, take care and stay healthy! :)